The Forgotten War GB (6/25/08 - 2/28/09) - Deadline Extended Yet Again!

It appears there is a recoat issue with Alclad II, for a laquer it is fairly slow drying and I was just hurrying it too much.  SNJ tolerates most anything after 30 minutes, but I don't think I'll try overcoating Alclad or sanding it before 24 hours anymore.  I avoided redoing the wings by applying patience, in other words, though there are a few blemishes.  I will make the next one perfect.  Or maybe the one after that.  And next time I play golf I will finish 2 under by making a hole in one!

I still have a few little bits to add like the position lights and the pitot tube, but I'm going to call it done for now, I'm getting behind on a few other GB's.  Here are some photos.  1/48 Academy F-86F and Monogram F-86D parts, Alps printed decals with artwork done in Corel 11 from photos for Robbie Risner's F-86E in which, among other things he pushed his wingman to safety from North Korea by stuffing his nosecone into the tail of the other Sabre which had flamed out due to fuel leaks from bad guy's ill intended actions.

The nut tree was a restaurant/ destination that became something of an icon for people driving across the state on I80. It was located in the town of Vacaville, about 60 miles east of SF and 20 miles west of Sacramento. It was traditional to stop there for a meal on the way to Lake Tahoe.

It was kind of a unique place. It had a little airport, a little amusement park, and really big restaurant and gift store, a real tourist trap of a deal. A little train ran back and forth from the airport to the restaurant.

In the sixties one of the original owners commissioned Edward Chavez, a master model maker to build a series of 1:10 and 1:12 scale models, mostly of subjects between the wars. These are big models, made from metal, wood, fabric and wire. I think that they are tremendous.

In 1996 the place was sold and torn down and became just another ugly and pointless strip mall along the freeway. The aircraft went to the Aviation Museum at SFO, which is a great place in the new terminal in a room that is a scaled down version of the original departure hall.

Here's the Condor. The model has an 83" wingspan.

Sorry it's so small.

I miss the 15K the landlords decided not to pay me, but they are going bankrupt so what can I do?

 Chavez' models are wonderful- I stood and looked at the Gamma for a good 5 minutes.

I am going to put together a tour of N Cal aviation. At this point it will be next Spring, as my wife and I are involved in a series of charity events this fall.

I would really like to include the Chavez models, plus the museum at SFO, and then go to Treasure Island, Oakland Alameda to see the Short Solent,then Travis. MccLellan and Castle.

I don't know how to strip alclad. I usually sand it off when I flock up because its really thin. Reprime with black acrylic and go from there.

BTW I was at SFO yesterday buying some tickets. I always take the opportunity to go look at Eddie Chavez' models from the Nut Tree. A real standout is his AA Curtiss Condor in 1/12. I'd like to have that model, but the only reference i can find is an Ardpol model, and I'm not at all familiar with it, but more than a little sceptical. Sorry, OT

jeaton01 wrote:

Thanks, everyone.  I am using ALPS printed and aftermarket decals for this one.  The Academy decals are too thick and resist setting solution, and in any event are not in the markings I am doing, which is Risner's airplane. I am having a lot of grief doing touch ups on the Alclad II area.  I may be hurrying it too much.  I can't feather out areas very well.  Any ideas?

Thanks, everyone.  I am using ALPS printed and aftermarket decals for this one.  The Academy decals are too thick and resist setting solution, and in any event are not in the markings I am doing, which is Risner's airplane.

I am having a lot of grief doing touch ups on the Alclad II area.  I may be hurrying it too much.  I can't feather out areas very well.  Any ideas? 

John,

I really like your Sabre!  I just finished putting down some Alclad Duraluminum on selected panels (base of Aluminum).  Now I'm debating on whether to use the decals for the theatre stripes or paint them.  I'm leaning toward painting them, but need to get some yellow.  I also need to do the blast panels and tail cone with something darker than the Alclad Duraluminum.  Can't post any pics right now - camera batteries are dead.  I'm going out to get them and some yellow and will post some pics later.

Steve

Some progress pictures on my Academy/Revell F-86E project.  I have the theatre stripes and the basic airframe aluminum sections complete save two panels that have to be taped off and resprayed due to some defects.  I think I've masked, unmasked, and remasked every part of this thing four times so far, mostly due to the theatre stripe painting and the inspars.  I did them with Testor's square bottle black and Model Master flat yellow which I buffed out to a gloss with a paper towel.  I had already done a coat of SNJ which helped find all the flaws, which I dealt with using Mr Surfacer 1000 and sore elbows with sanding film.  The black doesn't adhere too well to the Alclad,  so there has been some touch up to do there.  The first time I did the nmf I did the inspar panels using Alclad buffed with SNJ brass powder, and though it was nice I decide the inspars should be lighter than the rest of the nmf, so I used ALclad White Aluminum there and did the rest with SNJ Aluminum,  The gun blast panels and the stainless area by the tailcone were done with Alclad Dark Aluminum with SNJ aluminum powder buffed into the tail and brass buffed into the blast panels.  I hope I can be careful while I do the rest of the work on this model.  I've really worked hard on containing my impatience to finish on this one.  I always get too excited at this point.

sanderson_91 wrote:

Mucker, I think that either White Aluminum or regular Aluminum is good choice.  I'm working on my F-86 and have the base coat of Aluminum and have masked panels and am going to spray some white aluminum for contrast - hopefully tonight.  I wanted to use Polished Alum but it seemed WAY to shiny - almost like chrome - and the contrast between the Polished Alum, regular Alum, and the white alum seemed to drastic.  This is the first time that I've used Alclad so I'm not sure if I did something incorrect - I followed the method Swanny has on his site.  Steve

I appreciate the input, Steve. I think I'll dothe opposite of yours...start with White Aluminum and use regular aluminum for  random panels.  Good point about not adding anything too shiny, too.  Thanks!

  Well after a little more experamenting with the paper seat cusion, this is the final one. all I have left with the seat is headrest and seat belts. The cutting edge possable ones I have wont work. Too dam fiddly and VERY hard to work with. Thought of using my P38 ones but dont look right. So I`ll have to tough it up and use the unpainted ones with the Eduards set for it. They look right, but need to be paited(no stiching)We`ll see what happens. Hope you like........Harv

mucker wrote:

Well, my canopy masks and Alclad arrived today. I'm thinking of using the "White Aluminum" for the frame color on the Mig-15 Although I've never used this shade before. What do you all think? My U.S. jet aircraft has bave all been done in Polished ALuminum, so I wanted some differentiation, and the white aluminum should be a little "dirtier" of a look.

Mucker,

I think that either White Aluminum or regular Aluminum is good choice.  I'm working on my F-86 and have the base coat of Aluminum and have masked panels and am going to spray some white aluminum for contrast - hopefully tonight.  I wanted to use Polished Alum but it seemed WAY to shiny - almost like chrome - and the contrast between the Polished Alum, regular Alum, and the white alum seemed to drastic.  This is the first time that I've used Alclad so I'm not sure if I did something incorrect - I followed the method Swanny has on his site. 

Steve

Harv: Very nice. Looks just about right to me. The added "wrinkles" are a very nice touch and show up well in the pics.

Aaron: Looking great. Hard to believe that's 1/72. The detail is nicer than my 1/48th bird!!! Keep those pics coming.

Bondoman: Drop in anytime! You're always welcome here. Great pics, too. Thanks for your input...very helpful as I have no idea what the bulge is.

great pics of the airshow....

harv - also have no idea about accuracy (dont have any books on that specific subject), but the shape looks good to me..color? Dunno, so difficult to determine if a SPECIFIC color is correct... not sure how much "usage" should show either, like decolorization at the edges? sorry cant be of more help!

Aaronw - nice work so far.. are you going to weather some of the edges a bit, like drybrush?

cheers

jeaton01 wrote:

Charles, what the heck is that lump on the side of the Voodoo below the wizzo's seat where the identification light should be?

That particular aircraft seems to have been an ejection seat test bed. I wonder if that blister is a camera housing or some such monitor of the "dummy" exit.

And here's a must have link I stumbled across.

http://www.ejectionsite.com/frame_sg.htm

Dirtball,

I have no idea about the accuracy, but it looks good to me.

I finally got around to getting some pics of the cockpit on my 1/72 F84E

   Need a little imput here all. Honest oppinion. The seat cushon, is it too orange? Does it even look right? used red card stock, cut and bent. Also "drew" some shading and wrinkles on it but very hard to see in pic. I think this will work but not sure of the color. Please help. Thanks ..........Harv